Chobits: Persecom Girl
by ButterflyKai
Summary: Kai is a strange little persecom owned by Minoru Kokbunji.
1. Chapter 1

Chobits: Persecom Girl

Chapter 1: The Persecom who Cooks

Minoru sat watching his monitor carefully. There was a persecom on the screen, in what appeared to be a kitchen. She was humming as she cooked.

"Is there something wrong?" Yuzuki asked. He shook his head, sighing.

"I just think that there is more to her than even I know."

"Would you like me to do a search on her?"

"No, Yuzuki. I think that the less we know about her former life, the better off we'll be. After all, she isn't who she was before."

The persecom was a cute, human-sized one with no visible persecom ears. She had royal blue hair and one green eye and one blue eye. She seemed a little clumsy as she almost dropped a pot.

There was a knock on the door.

"Minoru?" Hideki poked his head in. Chi followed.

"Motosuwa," Minoru stood up and nodded. "What brings you here?"

"I had a question about Chi. But if you are busy, we can come back later."

"No, please, come in. Yuzuki, tell Kai to make some tea."

"Yes, Lord Minoru." Yuzuki sent the message remotely to the persecom that was in the kitchen. Minoru watched on the monitor as Kai received the message and saluted to no one.

"Message received and understood," Yuzuki said, bowing. Minoru nodded.

"Please, Motosuwa, Chi, sit down. Kai will be right in with the tea."

Hideki and Chi sat across from him on the couch.

"What was your question?"

"Right, well, you see, Chi wanted to learn to cook."

"To cook?" Minoru looked at the persecom on the screen as she fixed the tea. "I see…."

"Do you think we can download some free software?"

"No, cooking software is never free."

"Oh."

"Tea's ready!" Kai came in with a tray of two cups and a tea pot.

"Thank you, Kai." Minoru said as she poured him some tea. She gave some to Hideki, who stared at her.

"She's a persecom, too?" Hideki pointed. Minoru nodded.

"Kai at your service." She smiled and saluted.

"Chi?" Chi copied Kai.

"I've never seen her here before," Hideki continued.

"She's….new…." Minoru said quietly. "She's a little shy." Kai nodded, her head down.

"Kai is a kitchen persecom," Yuzuki explained. "She cooks and cleans up in the kitchen. Having only those programs allows more room for a personality program."

"Yes," Minoru elaborated. "Kai has an extremely complex personality. I programed her myself."

"Perfect!" Hideki stood up. "Chi, you can learn to cook from Kai!"

"I don't think that would be a good idea." Minoru waved the suggestion away. "Like I just said, she has a very complex personality."

"Chi learn to cook from Kai?" Chi asked, pointing to the persecom. Minoru shook his head as Hideki nodded.

"Oh, please, Minoru, it would be a great thing for Chi!" Hideki said excitedly. Minoru sighed.

"I suppose there would be no harm in trying it out."

"Yeah! Chi, you're going to be a great cook!"

"Since you insist on this, you should stay for dinner, Motosuwa. It would be good for you to try some of Kai's cooking before you blindly accept her as Chi's teacher."

"Oh, right!" Hideki rubbed the back of his head. Kai turned to Minoru.

"What would you like for dinner, Lord Minoru?" She asked innocently.

"Broccoli soup sounds nice for today." Minoru looked out the window at the rain that was falling. It hadn't been too long ago, on a night much like this one, that he'd ended up with Kai.

Kai bowed to them all and left. Yuzuki looked intently at Minoru.

"Chi, why don't you go with Kai? It'll be a great first lesson!" Hideki said.

"Chi!" Chi ran after Kai.

Minoru sighed.

"What is it?" Hideki asked. "Is there something wrong with Kai?"

Minoru waved him over. Hideki peered at the monitor. The kitchen was empty. After a few moments, Kai and Chi entered. Kai stayed a good distance away from Chi, and didn't seem to be saying anything as she started to clumsily chop up some vegetables.

"Kai is a special persecom," Minoru said thoughtfully. "I don't think that her personality will be able to teach anyone anything very effectively."

"Well, can't you just install teaching software?"

"In a normal persecom, I could…. But not in Kai."

Kai turned around and almost fell over, having been startled by Chi.

"I'm sorry," Kai bowed to Chi.

"Sorry?" Chi stared at her, her head titled. Kai looked away from her.

"I guess I'm not a very good teacher…."

"Kai is bad teacher?" Chi repeated, confused. Kai nodded.

"I guess it's just not in my programming!" Kai rubbed the back of her head, laughing nervously. Chi rubbed the back of her own head.

"Huh?" Kai watched as Chi mimicked her actions. Kai smiled shyly. Chi tilted her head again.

"Chi?"

"I better get this finished for Lord Minoru and his guest…." Kai muttered, turning back to her vegetables, humming as she chopped.

"What's so different about her?" Hideki asked as Yuzuki led him and Minoru to the dining hall. Minoru looked up at Hideki for a while, then turned his head forward again.

"It's not something I can say in the open air like this. All I can say is that Kai is a very special persecom…."

Hideki thought about this. What could be so special about her? She seemed clumsy and shy, not what a persecom should be. Perhaps she was one of those chobits that Minoru had mentioned before.

Yuzuki opened the door for them, and they entered the large dining hall. Shortly after sitting down, Kai and Chi came in, each carrying a bowl of soup and a spoon. Kai set hers in front of Minoru, and Chi put hers in front of Hideki.

"Wow, this is pretty good!" Hideki remarked as he finished his bowl. Kai smiled sheepishly.

"Thank you," she bowed to Hideki. Minoru looked carefully at her, eating slowly. Kai turned to him faithfully.


	2. Chapter 2

Chobits: Persecom Girl

Chapter 2: The Night of Horrors

"Minoru…." A boy with blood streaming down his face reached out from under a smashed and upside down car. It was raining, and his blue-black hair was matted with rain and blood.

Minoru woke up with a start from the dream. He shook his head.

"Is everything alright?" Yuzuki asked, looking at him from the chair in which she sat. Minoru didn't say anything. He clenched his fists and kept his face turned downward.

"Lord Minoru?"

"It's nothing, Yuzuki…."

"Are you sure?"

Again, Minoru said nothing. He looked out the window, into the rain.

"It was only a month ago…." Minoru said quietly.

"It was not your fault at all."

"I know that. I did everything I could have possibly done. I'm not blaming myself. I suppose I'm just missing him, is all."

"You should be missing him, Lord Minoru. After all, he was your best friend."

Minoru nodded.

~Flashback~

Minoru, only a little boy, ran around a garden, laughing. The boy with blue-black hair ran after him. The boy caught up to him and touched his shoulder.

"You're it!" the boy shouted happily. Minoru laughed.

"I'm done playing," Minoru panted, smiling happily. "I'm all worn out, Chagum."

"We only have a week left together." Chagum said, looking seriously at Minoru.

"We'll still be friends. We'll always be friends."

"I know that. But we're still leaving." Chagum sighed. Minoru looked at the slightly taller boy with concern.

"I'll email you every day."

"Yeah. That'll be nice." Chagum didn't really seem to be paying attention. Minoru frowned and then hugged the boy. Chagum was shocked at first, but then set his arms around Minoru, smiling slightly.

"I don't want you to go!" Minoru cried, tears streaming down his face. Chagum held him a little tighter.

"I don't want to go either…. But hey, I promise that I'll come back one day, and it'll be just like it is now. I promise."

~End Flashback~

"We were supposed to continue where we left off…." Minoru muttered. Yuzuki put a hand on his shoulder.

"I just don't understand it at all."

"It happens to everyone, Lord Minoru."

"Yes, I know. I just guess I never thought it would happen to Chagum. He was always so confident and sure of everything. I guess once he went to America, everything really changed."

"What do you mean?"

"His emails stopped coming so frequently. He seemed to be different. Something in America changed him."

Yuzuki gave her master a concerned look. Minoru looked at her, his eyes welling up with tears.

"I just miss Chagum…. The Chagum I used to know."

"Is there anything I can do for you?"

"I would like some more of Kai's soup…. It'll help warm me up."

Yuzuki nodded. "Message sent and received. Kai will bring it up in a moment."

"Thank you, Yuzuki."

She smiled and took Minoru's hand in her own. He smiled sadly at her. Kai brought up the soup.

"Is there anything else I can do for you, Lord Minoru?" Kai asked, not looking at him. Minoru shook his head and Kai bowed and left. Minoru sighed as he sipped his soup.

"This was Chagum's favorite. He told me that in an email when he first got to America. This was the first meal he had with his cousin. He made sure that Kai knew the recipe without even thinking. And she was happy to do that for him.

"They had such a bond, Chagum and Kai. Not even his changing could break that bond. She was perfect for him, and he for her. They were a perfect match. I'm not sure if I can give that to her."

~Flashback~

"Chagum!" Minoru ran up to him and grabbed his hand. Chagum was bleeding, under an upside down, smashed car. Chagum smiled weakly.

"Promise me something, Minoru…."

"Chagum, are you okay? Yuzuki!"

"No, it's over for me, Minoru."

"No, don't say that!" Minoru's eyes filled with tears.

"Minoru, take care of Kai…."

"Kai…?" Minoru looked into the upside down car to see Kai, in a seat belt, her eyes closed.

"Take care of her, Minoru. Keep her alive…."

"Chagum, you can take care of her! You're going to be fine! Yuzuki, call 911! Hang in there, Chagum!"

~End Flashback~

"If we hadn't been waiting for him…. What would have happened?" Minoru looked outside again at the falling rain.

"You can't think that way, Lord Minoru. Chagum wanted you to have Kai and keep her safe. That was his dying wish."

"I know. But I'm not sure if it was the right thing to do. After all, now she can't even remember what happened." Minoru looked to Yuzuki again.

"Maybe you should try to sleep some more, Lord Minoru."

Minoru nodded and lay down again. He closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep.

The next morning, Hideki and Chi arrived early so that Chi could start learning to cook from Kai.

"Good morning!" Hideki said to Minoru, who merely nodded. Hideki gave him a concerned look.

"Is everything okay?"

"I didn't get much sleep last night," Minoru replied.

"That's too bad. Hey, I was wondering if you had any more of that soup. It was really good! Where'd she get that recipe?"

"Since she's a strictly cooking persecom, she has thousands of recipes in her memory. That one is from America. She spent several years there."

"So you didn't make her?"

"No, I did make her….part of her…."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, nothing." Minoru looked into the kitchen, where Kai was attempting to teach Chi, but was rather nervous and upset.

"Like I said, she has a very complex personality. Don't be surprised if there aren't any results."

"Oh, I'm sure everything will be fine. I have to get off to prep school. I'll be by after work to pick Chi up!" Hideki left.

"Is everything alright?" Yuzuki asked Minoru as he stared into the kitchen. He nodded, smiling slightly at her.


	3. Chapter 3

Chobits: Persecom Girl

Chapter 3: Unforgettable

"Why doesn't she chop things evenly?" Shinbo asked Minoru as they sat in the study, watching Kai try to teach Chi how to cook. Minoru didn't say anything. He simply kept staring intently at Kai on the monitor.

"She sure is a strange little persecom," Shinbo added.

"Aye!" Sumomo nodded from Shinbo's shoulder. Again, Minoru said nothing.

"Where did you get her?"

"I made her."

"I have to say, no offense, but she's not your best work."

"Actually, she may be my greatest work…." Minoru muttered.

"What do you mean? I thought Yuzuki was your greatest."

Yuzuki looked away from them, since she knew something that Shinbo did not.

"Yuzuki is my best persecom," Minoru smiled up at the persecom, who nodded gratefully. "But my best work, I think, was done on Kai…."

"Were you trying to make her as human as possible?"

Minoru turned slowly to his friend. He sighed, stood up, and walked over to the window, his hands behind his back.

"I didn't have to."

"What do you mean?"

"She isn't a normal persecom. She's special. Although, I can't understand something about her."

"What is that?"

"How she could retain all the recipes she learned in America, yet she can't remember Chagum…." Minoru's voice was so quiet that it was almost impossible to hear him.

"Chagum? Who's Chagum?"

"Chagum was my best friend…. Kai was his sister."

"So he was a persecom, too?"

~Flashback~

Yuzuki carried Kai down into a workshop that was in Minoru's basement.

"Set her here." Minoru pointed to a table. Yuzuki nodded and did as she was told. Minoru stared at Kai.

"Take care of her…." He muttered. "Yuzuki, you know what he means, don't you?"

"I'm afraid that I don't, Lord Minoru." Yuzuki said.

"He means that we have to save her. She is unconscious. It looks like the right side of her body is crushed."

Indeed, the right side of Kai's body was crushed. Minoru picked up a needle with a blue fluid in it. He injected it into Kai's arm.

"That will keep her asleep while I work on her."

Yuzuki nodded. "You have an email from Mr. Shinbo."

"I'll take care of it later. This is more important."

"Yes, Lord Minoru."

Minoru picked up a small motorized saw and was almost crying as he turned it on.

~End Flashback~

"You see, Mr. Shinbo," Minoru said quietly, looking out the window, still. "Kai was not always a persecom."

"She was a human?"

"That's scary!" Sumomo said. Minoru turned to them.

"In order to save her life, I had to replace the right side of her body with that of a persecom. I don't know how she did, but she kept her personality, which had been complex since the time we were children.

"Even though she was gravely injured in that car accident, she kept all her knowledge of cooking, and all of the recipes she'd learned throughout her life. But for some reason she seemed to have completely forgotten her life before that.

"She doesn't remember being in America or even being human. She thinks that she is a persecom."

"That's strange. Did you program that out of her?"

"No, I tried to keep her memory intact. Obviously, I ended up erasing it."

"Minoru, do you realize what you did here?"

"What?" Minoru gave him a confused look.

"You've created a Chobit."

"That's ridiculous. Kai isn't a Chobit. Of course, she is very different, and not a normal persecom, but that is because her left half is still human. She even has a bad knee."

"You have created a persecom that feels and needs to breathe and sleep and eat. She does eat, doesn't she?"

"I have never seen her eat, but it is true that she sleeps and breathes. Since she doesn't go outside much, I simply programmed her to run on an oxygen system that she can pull out of the air. It was easy, since she needs to breathe for her human half, anyway. As far as she knows, the reason she breathes is because she doesn't go outside."

"Wow, Minoru, you really are amazing!"

"I simply saved her life by taking away her humanity…. I wouldn't call that amazing at all."

"You created a Chobit!"

"She isn't a Chobit!" Minoru glared at him. "She is a cyborg, and nothing more, nothing less."

"I think that she is something more, Minoru. She's your friend. Isn't that why you saved her?"

"I would have done the same to any other person who needed it."

"No, you would have taken them to the hospital, right? But for some reason, you had to save Kai in a different way, isn't that right?"

Minoru turned back to the window, not saying anything. Shinbo stood up and put a hand on his shoulder.

"You did a really great thing, Minoru. You realize that with your technology, you can change the world. You can save thousands of people with what you've done."

"Not if it means taking away what makes them human." Minoru looked downward, seeming ashamed. Shinbo stared at him.

"She is still human. You'll see. Soon, her memory will come back. I'm sure it was the trauma that erased her memory, not you. After all, like you said, she remembers all of her recipes. I'm sure it will all come back in time."

Minoru went back to his chair to watch Kai on the monitor.

"Does Kai like Hideki?" Chi asked. Kai turned to her, a blush on the left side of her face.

"Mr. Motosuwa seems like a nice person," Kai said, looking away from Chi.

"Chi wants to learn to cook to make Hideki smile!" Chi smiled happily. Kai nodded, turning back to her vegetables.

"I cook to make Lord Minoru happy…. I love to see his smile. Althoug, I haven't seen him smile very much…."

"Hideki smiles when Chi gives him things!"

"That's very nice, Chi…. Here." Kai handed her a knife and a potato.


	4. Chapter 4

Chobits: Persecom Girl

Chapter 4: Cooking Lesson

"Chi?" Chi tilted her head at Kai, holding up the knife and potato, confused.

Kai grabbed her hands and showed her how to chop up the potato after slicing all the skin off.

"The skin is usually dirty," Kai said. "So you usually take it off."

"Take it off." Chi repeated, peeling the skin off of another potato.

"That's right, Chi." Kai smiled. She showed Chi how to slice the potatoes and put them in a skillet to fry.

"This is for a dish they make in America," Kai said. "Fried potatoes and hamburgers." Kai smiled cutely, holding up a wooden spoon. "Now to make the burgers!"

"Chi!" Chi held up a spoon, too.

"I'm back!" Hideki came into the foyer. He took his shoes off and went toward the kitchen.

"Motosuwa," Minoru said before he could go into the kitchen.

"Hey, Minoru, what is it?"

"I don't think it would be a good idea to interrupt them. Why don't you just come up to the dining hall with me? Mr. Shinbo is already there with Yuzuki and Sumomo."

"Oh, I see. Has she been doing a good job?" Hideki asked as they went to the dining hall.

"It seems like she is good at learning, even from Kai."

"Why is it that Kai is so different from the rest of your persecoms, Minoru?"

Minoru sighed, walking with his hands behind his back.

"I guess it's only right to let you know. After all, Mr. Shinbo and Sumomo know, now. But you have to promise that you won't say anything to anyone. You can't even tell Chi. And don't talk about it with Mr. Shinbo, either."

"Alright, alright, it must be some huge secret, then."

"Kai is a half-human persecom. She was the sister of my best friend. He died in a car accident not too long ago. Kai's right side, the side with the blue eye, is a machine, a persecom. Her left half, with the green eye, is still human."

"You made a human into a computer!" Hideki stared at him, bewildered. Minoru nodded.

"My friend Chagum told me to take care of her. That was the only way to save her life…. She doesn't know. She thinks she is a full persecom."

"Wow, Minoru, you really are something else…."

Minoru didn't say anything. He simply led the way into the dining hall, where Shinbo and Sumomo were already waiting.

"Now we have to arrange them on the plate like this," Kai said, showing Chi how to put the potatoes and sandwiches neatly on the plate, so that the sandwich was in the middle and the potatoes surrounded it.

"Will this make Hideki happy?"

"I think so. I think this recipe is a good one. I think people like it…." Kai seemed to be trying to remember something.

"Is something wrong with Kai?"

"Huh?" Kai turned to Chi and then smiled, shaking her head. "No, no, everything's fine." Kai turned back to her plate and clenched her fists, staring seriously at the food.

"It's time to take the food in, now," Kai said, a slight smile on her face. She picked up two plates and Chi picked up the third. They took them into the dining hall.

"Hideki!" Chi ran over to him, she put the plate in front of him and then hugged him. "Chi made food for Hideki!" Chi smiled happily. Hideki stared down at the plate.

"It looks great, Chi." He smiled. Kai put her plates in front of Minoru and Shinbo. She stared at Chi, who waited eagerly for Hideki to try the sandwich and potatoes. He took a bite of the potatoes.

"Wow, these are great," Hideki said. Chi smiled and hugged him again.

"Chi made Hideki smile!"

Kai looked at Minoru, who ate with a straight face. She clenched her fists again, this time, her face was determined.

"Is everything to your liking, Lord Minoru?"

"Yes, Kai, everything is fine." Minoru nodded. Kai looked downward, but said nothing more. She returned to the kitchen alone. Kai began to wash dishes rather slowly.

"I only want to make Lord Minoru happy…." She muttered. "Why does nothing I do make him smile? Perhaps I am doing something wrong…."

"Hey," Hideki and Chi came into the kitchen as Kai was washing dishes. Kai looked up at them and smiled cutely.

"I wanted to thank you for teaching Chi," Hideki continued. Kai nodded.

"It's my pleasure, Mr. Motosuwa." Kai bowed. "I do anything Lord Minoru tells me to do."

"Right, well, I was wondering if you could teach her some more tomorrow."

"Of course. I like having Chi here." Kai smiled at the persecom, who smiled in return, then looked at Hideki lovingly. Kai looked from Chi to Hideki, then back to Chi. She then turned her eyes downward and clenched her fists. She bowed stiffly to Hideki.

"If you would please excuse me, I have much work to do."

"Of course. We'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Hideki raised a hand and left, Chi following closely behind. Kai turned back to her dishes. She stared into the water pensively.

"She really is a great cook," Shinbo said with a smile. Minoru nodded. They had returned to the study, where Minoru was once again watching Kai on the monitor.

"She always had been…."

"So it troubles you that she can't remember your friend, her brother?"

Minoru didn't say anything. He stared at the monitor, watching Kai stare at the water. Under normal circumstances, he would have Yuzuki send a message to any other persecom, telling them to continue their work.

"Maybe she does remember some of it. She tends to zone out at times, like she is now. I wonder if at those times, she's remembering something."

Kai stared down at her hands in the water. She sighed and picked up her dishcloth and a plate, scrubbing it clean. She placed it on the drying rack and picked up another plate, washing it.


	5. Chapter 5

Chobits: Persecom Girl

Chapter 5: Memories

Minoru was watching Kai make lunch on the monitor in the study. He watched intently.

"Do you want her to remember, Lord Minoru?" Yuzuki asked. Minoru turned to her slowly.

"All you do all day is sit there and watch her. Is that because you want her to remember, or you are afraid that she will?"

"Afraid that she will remember? What is that supposed to mean?"

"You want her to remember, don't you? But you are afraid of what will happen if she does remember, isn't that all true?"

Minoru turned back to the monitor, pondering this. He sighed.

"I suppose that you are correct, Yuzuki. I would like her to remember. I am quite puzzled as to why she doesn't. After all, Chagum used to be her entire world, and now she doesn't even remember him. But on the other hand, I don't know how she will react to remembering. She is a fragile person, Yuzuki. She always has been. Sometimes I wonder if she is just better off not knowing her past…."

Kai brought Minoru's lunch in and set it on the desk in front of him.

"Is there anything else you need…?" Kai asked, the last word trailing off as she stared at the wall.

"Kai?" Minoru asked. He looked at the wall where she was staring. On a little table, there was a picture of her and Chagum as children with Minoru.

"Who….In that picture…." Kai walked slowly over to the picture and picked it up. She stared at it for what seemed like a long time.

"Kai…." Minoru stood up. He looked to Yuzuki, who nodded encouragingly.

"Oh, excuse me," Kai turned quickly to Minoru and bowed, handing the picture to him. "Is there anything else you need from me?"

"Kai, why were you looking at this picture that way?" Minoru asked, holding it out to her. Kai stared at the picture, her eyes wide. She shook her head.

"Excuse me, Lord Minoru…. I just thought the people in the picture looked familiar…."

"Familiar? How so?"

"I had never noticed that picture before. Well, I think I have seen those other people before…."

"Where have you seen them, Kai?" Minoru handed her the picture. She stared down at it. She lightly touched the image of her younger self.

"This girl…. Who is she?"

"She was my best friend's sister." Minoru turned away from Kai, heading back to his chair. He sat down and folded his hands, looking intently at Kai.

"And this boy was your best friend?" Kai asked absently. Minoru nodded.

"His name was Chagum."

"Chagum…. Do I know him?"

Minoru didn't say anything. He just kept watching her carefully. Yuzuki looked at Minoru, a little concerned.

Kai held the picture to her chest. She bowed to Minoru again.

"I would like to keep this picture, Lord Minoru, please."

Minoru nodded. "You may keep it, Kai."

"Thank you, Lord Minoru!" Kai smiled and left the room. Yuzuki put a hand on Minoru's shoulder.

"Is it so that she will remember, Lord Minoru?"

He looked up at Yuzuki and nodded.

"I shouldn't keep it from her. And she is like a Chobit. She has real emotions. So keeping her past from her would be the wrong thing to do, don't you agree, Yuzuki?"

Yuzuki nodded, smiling slightly.

Kai went to the pantry and sat down on the floor, holding the picture tightly to her chest. She smiled a small, simple smile.

"I don't know why," she told the picture, "but I know that I should know you…." She stared at the image of Chagum. Her fingers lightly brushed the picture and she sighed.

~Flashback~

"Wow, Kai, this is great!" Chagum said, eating something. Kai smiled and sat down across the table from him.

"Tomorrow we'll be leaving to go back to see Minoru, won't that be great?"

Kai nodded, blushing a little bit.

"He'll be blown away by how great you can cook, Kai! I haven't seen him in such a long time." Chagum's face went from a smile to a serious expression. He looked downward.

"I know that I should have kept up with emailing him and everything, but I couldn't. How could I when things are so different here?"

"What do you mean?" Kai asked, tilting her head.

Chagum smiled a sad smile. "I guess you wouldn't remember. When we left Japan, persecoms were just starting out. Here, they are just starting to have that technology. And America is so much….larger than Japan."

"Oh, I see…."

"It's a shame that we lost touch. I really wish that we hadn't. After all, he's a really great kid. I always hoped you would end up with him!"

Kai blushed again, looking away from Chagum, who laughed. His face then returned to the serious expression.

"But in all reality, relationships aren't meant to be long-distance. You can't keep a relationship if you never get to see the person."

"But you miss him, isn't that enough?"

"I guess you're right, Kai…. But I still wish we hadn't come here. That would have made things a little easier. Minoru really didn't want us to, and looking back, I think he was right."

"Well, now you'll have the chance to tell him that, won't you?"

"Yeah!" Chagum smiled, raising his fist in the air. "I'll tell him all about how right he was! He'll love that!"

Kai giggled.

~End Flashback~

Kai stared at the image of Chagum.

"You used to be my master…." Kai held the picture tightly as she hurried back up to the study, her face pained and determined.

"Lord Minoru," She bowed, but her face seemed hurt. She stared at him, and he at her. She took a deep breath, holding the picture out and pointing to Chagum. Minoru stared at it. Yuzuki looked from the picture, to Minoru, then to Kai, and then back to Minoru. She folded her hands nervously.

"Why did you erase my memory of my former master?"


	6. Chapter 6

Chobits: Persecom Girl

Chapter 6: The Truth

"Why did you erase my memory of my former master?" Kai asked, holding out the picture of Minoru with Chagum and Kai as children. She was pointing to Chagum.

"You remembered something?" Minoru stood up, walking over to her. He took the picture from her and looked at it intently.

"Remembered…?" Kai looked down at the picture in Minoru's hands. She shook her head.

"Why did you erase the memory of him?"

"I didn't erase anything from your memory," Minoru said, sitting back down at the desk, still looking at her.

"I remembered him saying nothing but good things about you, and you took away my memory of him! He wanted to give me to you, and you still had to take that away. Why, Lord Minoru?" Kai covered her face with her hands and started to cry. She stopped, pulling her hands away from her face. She stared at them, noticing that the left hand had tears on it, and the other one was dry.

"I guess there's no avoiding it, now." Minoru stood up again, putting a hand on Kai's shoulder. "Maybe you should sit down."

Kai nodded, seeming to not even fully be there. She sat down on the couch, and Minoru sat next to her. He took a deep breath.

"You aren't a persecom, Kai."

"Yes, I am. I can receive messages and my memory is filled with recipes. I can play music, too."

"Let me rephrase that. You are not fully a persecom."

"What do you mean?"

"You noticed that only your left hand had tears on it, correct?"

"Yes, but I was surprised because a persecom can't cry. And I shouldn't be feeling the way that I do, because persecoms don't form attachments."

"Chagum wasn't your master, Kai. He was your brother. This girl in the picture is you when you were a little kid."

Kai looked down at the picture. She picked it up, looking at it carefully.

"But, then…."

"When you and Chagum came to visit me from America, you were in a terrible car accident. Chagum didn't survive, but you did, just barely. The right side of your body was crushed by the car. I had no choice but to replace it with that of a persecom."

"You're lying!" Kai stood up, pointing at him, her face serious. "I am a persecom! Master even said that he wanted to give me to you! Why would I be half a persecom? And I think I would remember something as important as a brother!"

"Calm down, Kai," Yuzuki put her hands on Kai's shoulders. Kai looked at her, then sat down, her hands between her knees. Minoru took her hands in his. He stared into her eyes, which made her left side blush.

"Kai, I would never lie to you. What would I gain from lying? I didn't want to tell you because I knew you would be upset. I knew how much you cared about Chagum. He was your entire world."

"Why….would I forget something like that?" Kai asked quietly, looking away from him. He held her hands tighter.

"I was afraid that by doing the operation on you, it might alter you in some way. It didn't change your personality or your cooking knowledge. It only changed your memory of Chagum."

"Why would something so specific disappear…?"

"I don't know, Kai, but the important thing is that you know, now, right?"

Kai nodded. "I want you to tell me everything you know about my former master."

Minoru sighed. "You still think that he was just your master?"

"I am a persecom, and that is the truth. That is how it is meant to be. I was never a human, whether you try to tell me that or not. It just doesn't make any sense to me." She shook her head. "I know that I'm a strange persecom, because I feel things for some reason, but that's just the way that I was made." She stood up and bowed. "I apologize for the intrusion." Kai left the room, holding the picture to her chest tightly.

Minoru sighed. "Why doesn't she believe me, Yuzuki?"

"She doesn't want to believe you, Lord Minoru. It is easier and less painful for her to have been Chagum's persecom than for her to have been his sister. I suppose that she will come to terms with it in her own time."

"Well, it's obvious that she is starting to remember some things. Otherwise, she wouldn't have had that reaction."

"You were correct, though. Her remembering was rather drastic. Perhaps it is better if for now, she believes that she is a persecom. She will soon realize on her own that you were not lying to her."

Minoru nodded, sipping some tea that Kai had brought with his lunch.

"I suppose that you are right. After all, she is a very fragile girl."

That night, Kai stayed awake, sitting in the pantry, staring at the picture, her hands holding it tightly. A tear fell on it.

"Where is this coming from?" She muttered, wiping her left eye. "I know that I am a strange persecom, but I can't be a human. I just was programmed differently. I was programmed to have emotions…."

Kai set the picture down on the floor and hugged her knees. She stared at the door.

"Maybe there was something wrong with me. Maybe that's why I can't remember my master. I know that Lord Minoru would never do anything like steal a persecom. He did say that his friend died. Maybe it was in his will to have me go to Lord Minoru…." Kai yawned and ended up falling asleep in that position on the floor.

"Good morning, Kai." Minoru opened the pantry door. Kai rubbed her left eye and stood up, bowing.

"I'm sorry that you had to make the trip down here, Lord Minoru."

He nodded, heading back up the stairs. Kai nodded and started to make breakfast.


End file.
